Ultra-large-scale integrated (ULSI) circuits generally include a multitude of transistors, such as, more than one million transistors and even several million transistors, that cooperate to perform various functions for an electronic component. Some transistors on the integrated circuit (IC) or chip are part of circuits which perform different operations than other circuits.
Some transistors perform functions for circuits in the critical signal path of the IC, where speed is crucial to the proper operation of the IC. In contrast, other transistors perform functions for circuits in the non-critical signal path of the IC, where speed is not as important. Transistors in the non-critical signal path are preferably designed to consume less power than transistors in the critical signal path. Still, other transistors may perform functions for a signal path having a criticality somewhere between the critical signal path and the non-critical signal path and accordingly have different speed and power consumption requirements.
Generally, transistors which have higher threshold voltages (Vth) consume less power than transistors which have low threshold voltages due to smaller off-state current leakage. Threshold voltage refers to the minimum gate voltage necessary for the onset of current flow between the source and the drain of a transistor. Transistors which have lower threshold voltages are faster (e.g., have quicker switching speeds) than transistors which have higher threshold voltages.
In ULSI circuits, transistors, such as, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), with low threshold voltages can be used in logic paths which have high speed requirements. In contrast, transistors, such as, MOSFETs, with higher threshold voltages can be used in the non-critical signal path (e.g. storage devices), thereby reducing the off-state leakage current and hence reducing the standby power consumption of the entire IC.
ULSI circuits are generally manufactured in accordance with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and design criteria which utilize N-channel MOSFETs and P-channel MOSFETs. The N-channel and P-channel MOSFETs generally include a polysilicon gate structure disposed between a drain and a source. The polysilicon gate structure controls charge carriers in a channel region to turn the transistor on and off.
According to conventional designs, multiple threshold voltages for transistors on a single IC are obtained by selectively providing channel implants for the transistors. Additional channel implants (e.g., doping the channel region to change the work function difference between the gate and the channel) are used for those transistors with higher threshold voltage requirements (e.g., Vth&gt;0.3V). The transistors which have lower voltage threshold requirements (e.g., Vth=0.3V or less) do not receive the additional channel implants.
Utilizing channel implants to adjust the threshold voltages of transistors can be problematic because transistor short channel performance is very susceptible to process variations. In particular, short channel performance is extremely sensitive to channel implants or additional doping steps. Accordingly, the modification of the channel with implants can result in significantly different short channel performance between transistors, which adversely affects the predictability of the design and operability of the IC. This characteristic is particularly problematic as transistors become smaller and packing densities increase. Additionally, providing channel implants adds additional steps to the fabrication process and makes the IC more difficult to manufacture.
Thus, there is a need for an integrated circuit or electronic device that includes transistors having different threshold voltage levels which can be manufactured according to a simpler process. Further still, there is a need for a ULSI circuit which does not utilize channel implants to adjust threshold voltages among transistors. Even further still, there is a need for a damascene process for fabricating transistors having multiple threshold voltages that is higher in density and can be more efficiently manufactured.